The country music singer's "Joy of Christmas" concert had been scheduled for today at the Big Sandy Superstore Arena. The arena says in a posting on its website that McBride canceled the show because of illness.

McBride's last two posts on her official Twitter account as of this morning, both from Nov. 27, read: "Every person I work with on a daily basis has some kind of illness right now! Stomach bug. Sinus. Cough. U name it"; then later, "In bed. "

The arena says the holiday-themed concert won't be rescheduled.

McBride is scheduled for a "Joy of Christmas" concert at The Ryman Auditorium in Nashville at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 4. Ryman officials confirm this morning that the show is still on. Tickets range from $79.50-$39.50 at www.ryman.com

Click the photo above for a photo gallery from the making of the 'CMT Crossroads.' Here, Patrick Stump of the Fall Out Boy and Kimberly Perry of The Band Perry talk over their parts as they rehearse a song on Oct. 1, 2013, in Nashville. (Photo: Larry McCormack/The Tennessean)

Stump, lead singer for rock group Fall Out Boy, was baffled — even with the help of a teleprompter — the first time his group and Perry’s sibling trio attempted the soaring ballad in rehearsal. While Kimberly Perry nailed the lyrics to her trio’s song, Stump didn’t even attempt the lines assigned to him and asked to go through the song with just Kimberly Perry and a guitar.

“There were a lot of rhythms that just came in sideways in my head,” Stump said of “Don’t Let Me Be Lonely.” “By the end of it, that will probably end up being my favorite song because that was the one we spent the most time on.”

The unexpected collaboration between The Band Perry and Fall Out Boy and the initial confoundedness with “Don’t Let Me Be Lonely” is par for the course for CMT’s long-running cross-genre duet series, “Crossroads.”

While members of both bands struggled at times during rehearsals, they managed to learn each other’s songs enough to confidently perform them together during the next day’s live taping of “Crossroads.”

“It’s interesting because there’s all this angst going (into the taping) about who is going to do what,” said John Hamlin, executive producer on “Crossroads” and senior vice president of music events and talent at CMT. “When ultimately the musicians step onto the stage for the first rehearsal, they instantly speak a language that the rest of us don’t speak and they work it out between themselves. They are always very gracious and very generous and very inclusive.”

Click here to see a photo gallery of "Playin’ Possum! The Final No Show" at Bridgestone Arena on Friday.Here, Dierks Bentley performs. (Photo: John Partipilio/The Tennessean)

11:11 p.m.: A tribute concert to George Jones would not be complete without “He Stopped Loving Her Today.” Alan Jackson does the honors.

Then he invites Nancy Jones on stage and invites the audience to sing along.

“This is the greatest country song by the greatest country singer, Mr. George Jones,” Jackson says, as he again launches into the chorus of “He Stopped Loving Her Today.”

“Thank you all so much,” he says, “George, we love you.”

Leaving the stage, his arm around Nancy Jones’ waist, Jackson stops to set the rocking chair on stage in motion. As the chair meant for Jones rocks slowly back and forth, the crowd claps and cheers begging for more.

But it is, indeed, the end.

George Jones (photo: Peyton Hoge).

George Jones’ tribute is complete, after almost four hours.

The audience has made it clear that, like his chair, it truly rocked.

11:09 p.m.: Stacy McCloud returns to the stage and invites the audience to recognize Nancy Jones.

Contemporary country music artists and the content of their songs have a history of protecting and empowering women. But one of the genre’s most recent chart toppers prompts the question: Is country music at a crossroads in the portrayal of the sex that comprises 60 percent of its radio audience?

On one hand, stars including Tim McGraw and Chris Young have kicked fans out of concerts in recent years for acting aggressively toward women. On the other, a recent No. 1 country song by Tyler Farr depicts a jilted ex-boyfriend going “Redneck Crazy” on a woman’s front lawn.

Domestic violence against women has been present in country music to some extent since the genre’s first breakout star, Fiddlin’ John Carson, crooned “it’s a shame to whip your wife on Sunday” in the 1920s. And such portrayals are certainly not unique to country, sociologists, historians and researchers say, with similar depictions found in hip-hop, heavy metal, rock and virtually every other popular genre.

While domestic violence in songs has not been conclusively linked to an uptick in abuse, experts say, such depictions desensitize and normalize society.

In “Redneck Crazy,” Farr sings about getting angry in his girlfriend’s yard because he thinks she is cheating on him.

Gregg Allman signs copies of his new book at BMI in Nashville. (photo: Danny Clinch)

ATLANTA - The Allman Brothers, Sam Moore, Taj Mahal, Warren Haynes, Eric Church and several others have signed on to pay tribute in concert to Gregg Allman early next year.
"All My Friends: Celebrating the Songs & Voice of Gregg Allman" will be held Jan. 10 at Atlanta's Fox Theatre. The concert will be filmed and released later.

Others on the eclectic list of performers include Natalie Cole, Jackson Browne, John Hiatt, Pat Monahan of Train, Martina McBride, Trace Adkins and John Hiatt. Special guests and more performers will be announced soon. Tickets go on sale Nov. 1 at the Fox Theatre box office.

Don Was will lead an all-star band lined up to help celebrate Allman, a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame who was born in Nashville.

George Jones' planned farewell concert in November will now be a tribute concert. Jones passed away on April 26. Click the photo for a gallery of images from Jones' funeral last week at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville. (Tennessean File Photo)

The talent line up for George Jones’ tribute concert — originally planned as the Country Music Hall of Famer’s final concert in his farewell tour — continues to grow.

On Tuesday, Jones’ widow Nancy Jones revealed even more celebrities who are set to appear at the sold-out Nov. 22 concert at Bridgestone Arena, now entitled “Playin’ Possum! The Final NO Show.”

Jones, who struggled with alcohol abuse and earned a reputation over a period in his career for not showing up at his concerts, died in April at age 81.

“The evening of George Jones songs is going to be the best musical tribute Nashville has ever seen,” Nancy Jones said in a statement. “We have many surprises planned, and I just wish George could be here to see what we are doing for him.”

Click the photo above to see a photo gallery of Randy Travis over the years.

Country music stars and fans joined together to urge prayers for Randy Travis on Thursday after he underwent brain surgery following a stroke at a Texas hospital.

Travis remained in critical condition Thursday after surgery to relieve pressure on his brain Wednesday night, publicist Kirt Webster said. The 54-year-old Grammy Award-winning singer had been improving while being treated for heart failure caused by a viral infection when he had the stroke.

The setback occurred hours after doctors said Travis was showing signs of improvement since the start of treatment Sunday for congestive heart failure and the insertion of a pump to help his heart increase blood flow.

Also a member of that star-studded cast: Country Music Hall of Famer Bill Anderson, though he joked to the Tennessean that he might have ended up on the cutting room floor.

"I've been here for 50-plus years, and I was able to share a bit of my perspective of (Nashville) over that long of a period of time," he says. "I'm just anxious to see it. I know I'll learn a lot from watching it."

It didn't mark Anderson's first film role, but it's been a minute since he was on the silver screen.
"I did a few grade-B movies back in the 1960s when that was kind of a new thing. This is a long way from being in 'Forty Acre Feud' and 'Hillbillies in a Haunted House' (laughs)."

On second thought, Anderson didn't believe he was in the latter film (but perhaps that was for the best).

Sarah Darling in 'The Story of Nashville' (photo: The Wade Brothers)

Sarah Darling, on the other hand, is making her big-screen debut with the film, which caught up the rising country star last year as she prepared to perform on the "Grand Ole Opry." They've had her back some thirty times since then.

"I couldn't be more excited, because I feel like the doors are wide open for all kinds of musicians," she said. "If you have a passion for music, you should be here."

The film's executive producer - NCVC president and CEO Butch Spyridon - said that as Nashville's music community earns more international attention, it's important to remember its roots. The screening came at a fitting time, as Nashville is celebrating several new additions to the concert landscape, including the spiritual return of the "Dancin' in the District" concert series as "Nashville Dancin'."

"It's been a really good week," Spyridon says. "The more music we can put in Music City, the more undeniable our brand and our destination becomes."

Over the past decade, several Music Row labels, studios and related businesses have relocated to other areas of Nashville or to surrounding communities, causing a noticeable change in the area’s look and feel. Click to see a slideshow on Music Row.(photo: John Partipilo / The Tennessean)

The house at the corner of 16th Avenue South and Tremont Street has served Mary Hilliard Harrington well for six years. From that post in the Music Row neighborhood, she has watched as her company, The Green Room PR, a music industry-focused public relations firm, has tripled in size and come to count Tim McGraw, Jason Aldean and Dierks Bentley as clients.

But the little house has become restrictive as The Green Room has grown. So Harrington is trading in the quaint office space next month for a contrasting view of exposed brick, high ceilings and an open floor plan.

The move means giving up the firm’s address in a neighborhood long favored by the music industry for a mailbox in the emerging SoBro neighborhood. Fifteen years ago, such a decision would have seemed to fly in the face of logic. Today, though, Harrington is on trend. Continue reading →

Kimberly Schlapman of Little Big Town performs during the We're All for the Hall Concert benefitting the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum at the Bridgestone Arena in 2012. (Photo: Tennessean file/George Walker IV)

The new season kicks off at noon Saturday on Great American Country and will highlight the singer’s passion for simple home cooking as well as the food finds she picks up during her extensive travels with Little Big Town.

“Cooking has always been Kimberly’s passion, and our Great American Country audience also loves to see her in the field hunting for treasures as well as cooking in the kitchen, so the series combines the best of both worlds,” says Sarah Trahern, senior vice president and general manager of Great American Country, in an announcement for the second season.